Betrayal
by Sapphire ocean123
Summary: Will makes up his mind to confront Alicia and find out why she is betraying him. Rated T for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

It was a betrayal. He couldn't find any other way to describe what she was doing. There had been suspicion that the fourth years were leaving, but he never suspected her to go with them. He knew she might have once plotted the idea with Cary when her partnership was taken away, but he thought becoming an equity partner had tied her over and convinced her to stay. Apparently it wasn't enough, he wasn't enough. She didn't even have the decency to tell him, Cary told Diane and then she told him. It actually only happened a couple of hours ago. He didn't know if she would even talk to him about it, at least explain why she was doing this, and give him a reason not to be furious with her. He didn't know if he would even listen to her if she tried. Yes. He would listen, be understanding like he always was with her. Even if he resolved to be harsh and unforgiving when she approached him to explain things, he knew that as soon as his eyes met hers and she began to plead with him, his resolve would crumble and he'd give into her. Like he always did.

There moment in his car came to his mind. She looked so sad as she tried to convince them both not to pursue whatever it was that they shared. Then they had kissed. It was like everything else just faded away when their lips met. The only thing he wanted in that moment was more, more of her. It probably would have gone further if Diane hadn't interrupted. He was just about to lean in to kiss her again when the knocking pulled them both from there blissful moment. There bad timing had passed being laughable years ago, now it was just cruel.

His reverie was broken by Diane entering his office. She walked straight passed him and poured them both a glass of scotch.

"I knew things were going to we'll, something was bound to happen that would screw us" she said while taking a seat next to him and handing him the scotch.

"Heard anything from Alicia yet?" He took a sip from his glass and the liquid left a pleasant burning sensation in his throat.

"She's here, packing up her office with the rest of them, but I haven't talked to her yet."

"Don't, I'll talk to her, you already talked to Cary" he downed the rest of his drink and stood up.

"Are we sure that's a good idea?" She gave him a knowing look.

"Why wouldn't it be" his voice sounder harder then he intended it to be.

"Oh come on, will. You've been sitting in this office for an hour staring at that table like you were going punch it. You're not ready to have a civilised conversation with Alicia yet." He couldn't tell if her voice was laced with pity or indifference. But he knew she was right, talking to Alicia now wouldn't be productive at all, not with his feelings this close to the surface. If they were to talk now it would probably end in either a shouting match or tears. Besides he had court in an hour.

"I'll talk to her later then, right now I have to head over to the court house any way" he replied sullenly.

"We'll when you do, try to find out what clients there taking. Cary was adamant about not revealing that."

Will didn't reply he just nodded at her and walked at of his office. He would go to court, do his job. But tomorrow they would talk. He wouldn't care if she got upset or angry and he wouldn't leave until she told him why she was betraying him like this. He needed answers.


	2. Chapter 2

This is a stupid idea. Why did he even come here, he could've called her and arranged a place for them to meet but instead he was at her door at midnight. He had made a decision to talk to her tomorrow, technically it was tomorrow, it was ten past twelve. Although he doubted she would appreciate that justification of why he was here this late. Oh what the hell, she probably wouldn't be happy at the end of this conversation even if he had scheduled it at a better time. He took a deep breath and knocked boldly on her door. Once. Twice. He was about to go for a third when he heard footsteps approaching the door. The door swung open to reveal Alicia dressed in silk pyjamas with messy bed hair; he had clearly waked her up.

"Will, wh- what are you doing here!?" Her voice was raspy from sleep.

"I already told you we needed to talk, but now that I've heard of your future plans from Cary, I think we need to do this now." He was doing his best to sound controlled and calm, but the sight of her like this, unprofessional, no makeup, and shorter because she wasn't wearing heals, was stirring up some very pleasurable memories that he was trying to repress. He remembers the first time he woke up next to her at his apartment, she looked so peaceful and natural as she slept, not to mention beautiful. Apparently her thoughts were not in the same place as his because all his last remark did to her was make her frustrated.

"Will this is totally over the line; you can't just show up here! You need to leave, we can talk later." She was whispering. Why was she whispering? Oh right. Her kids. In his rush and determination to get here and hash this out he had completely forgotten that they might be here.

"Look Alicia, I'm sorry if your kids are here but I'm not leaving we need to talk." He crossed his arms over his chest to prove his point to her that she wasn't getting out of this. Not this time.

"The kids are at sleepovers, it's not them I don't want to wake up." She looked like she was waiting for him to catch on to something, but he didn't know what. Who else would be here? He saw her unconsciously stroke her wedding ring and then the thought stuck him. Peter was here. Crap. He had not factored that into tonight at all. Talk about bad timing, this night was turning into a disaster.

"Peters here." He said to let her know he figured it out. Try as he may he couldn't keep the disappointment out of his voice. He knew they were back together she had told him, but somehow he didn't actually expect them to be sharing a bed again. The thought made him sigh with anger.

She sighed to. "Look Will I don't what you expected tonight, but you need to leave. Peter won't take kindly to you coming here like this."

"No, I'm not leaving until we go over things. I don't care if Peter's here or not." He actually did, she was right; Peter coming out to them arguing in a hallway in the middle of the night would do nothing to help this situation. It would probably just end up in someone's nose being broken. But he wasn't leaving, things were getting off track and it was time to talk about what he came for, her leaving him to go run off with Cary. He did still want to talk about their feelings for each other but that would have to wait.

"Fine, talk away then." She didn't really mean it but he didn't really care. She was angry now, but somehow that just made him want to do this more.

"You're jumping ship with Cary." It wasn't an accusation; he was just stating a fact.

"Yes, I made the decision the night of the election."

"The night we kissed" she looked over her shoulder when he said it, probably afraid Peter might be standing behind them listing.

"Yes, the night we kissed. Is this what's this is about? You want to talk about the kiss?" She guessed.

"No, I want to know why leaving Lockhart/Gardner."

"Will, I'm back with Peter now and were trying to make things work. I can't do that when I'm distracted by being around you so much, especially when we're alone together. "She was talking fast probably trying to get her point across before he could interrupt.

"So that's all I was to you? A distraction?" He knew she could hear the hurt in his voice.

"No, Will no. I didn't mean that. I meant that being around you so much was making me distracted because I couldn't stop thinking about you." She froze after she said that last part probably trying to think of a way to take it back. He talked before she could.

"Do you care about me?"

The question surprised her. "Of course, you know that I do."

"Then stay. Stop this nonsense with Cary. We're adults Alicia; we can work together without more happening. The firm can't afford to lose you right now."

"No, we can't work together any more. It's too tempting, not just for me but for you to. It would be so easy to lose control for one night, when were alone together in the office. But I know that after I would feel so guilty. Peter asked me to renew our vows and I said yes. I can't stay at the firm with you anymore because I want to be faithful. To do it right this time. Being there with you every day, knowing that I could just walk down the hall and kiss you and have you for the night, it's too tempting. And I know that if I stay any longer were eventually going to give into that, and that's something I don't want to do. Not now. Not when I'm back with Peter and I've promised to commit myself to him again." She sounded resolved, like there was no room for argument in her decision.

"It doesn't matter what I say dose it, you won't change your mind about staying" he said resizing she wasn't changing her decision.

"No, I want to do this. Not just because of you but because I want to be in a firm that isn't shady. If I go with Cary I can make decisions about how the firm is run, and I'm not being disrespectful to you and Diane but now that I'm a partner and I see the way you make decisions and I don't like it. All the partners care about is money, and half of them don't do anything! Like Howard, the only reason he's there is because you wanted his vote. And I don't want to work like that anymore."

"Oh come on Alicia! Why do you think people work at firms, to make money! Stop living in your dream world, people don't just do things for the right reason. There's always an ulterior motive. "Now he was angry. She pissed him off when she started criticising the way he ran his firm.

"You think you're doing this to help people?! To make the world a better place? The only thing you're doing is betraying me by leaving."

"I don't see it as a betrayal." She sounded upset now. Good.

"We'll I have no other way to see it. I gave you the job when you were desperate, I stuck my neck out for you when people undermined you and I have always gone along with what you've wanted when it comes to our relationship. I've never pushed you or given you an ultimatum, or gotten mad at you when you picked Peter over me. I've always been understanding and stuck by you. And when our relationship starts getting complicated again, you just go and run away! Not to mention the fact that you're taking my employees and clients with you." He was so close to her now. During his rant he got right up into her face to try to intimidate her, because let's face it he couldn't yell. Peter would wake up and he wasn't in the mood for a pissing match over Alicia right now.

"I don't know what you want me to say Will. You want me to say I'm sorry? That I'll miss you when I'm gone? Well I am and I will, but it still doesn't change anything!" She didn't flinch away from him when he invaded her personal space, in fact she moved closer. He'd only have to move his head forward an inch to kiss her, but that's not what he came here for. He took a step backwards so that he'd have a clear head.

"We'll I guess that's it then. I would say good luck with your new firm, but seeing as where going to be rivals I wouldn't mean it." He gave her a polite smile and turned to walk away. His walls were up. He was done. He found out why she was leaving, that was all he came for right? Ok maybe a small part of him was hoping she might try to make a play for him. But that hope had been overshadowed by determination to find out why she was leaving. Until now, now he was hoping she might try to grab his arm and say she was sorry and wrong. But that wasn't like her, and if she was doing all of this to get away from him so she could be with Peter properly, he would let her go.

"I'm sorry Will. I'll always be grateful for the ways you helped me. You're a good friend." They both new she meant that he _was_ a good friend, seeing as this night had basically severed all ties between them. But she was nice enough not say it.

"I hope you're happy with Peter and Cary, Alicia." He wasn't lying; at least one of them should turn out happy because of this. Because he sure as hell wasn't.

She didn't say anything else but he heard her enter her apartment and close the door behind her. As he walked to the elevator he realised that basically all of his anger had evaporated. Even if he didn't like it sometimes, he did love her. And a big part of why he loved her was the side of her that was always trying to be responsible and good. This is what she thought was the right thing to do, and even if he didn't agree with her, he respected that she was so invested in doing what she thought was right.

For the last four years (it was actually twenty but four sounded less pathetic) Alicia has owned apart of his heart, and ever since she began to work for him, she took over a little more each year. But now she was hell bent on making it work with Peter and he couldn't change her mind. So he'd just stay out of her way and let her live out her fantasy.

If six months from now things end up not working out with peter and her, and she showed up at his doorstep telling him that she missed him and was sorry and that she wanted him back, he'd like to believe that he would tell her no, because he'd moved on and she should too. But who knows. Alicia Florrick always had a way of making him love her, even when he didn't want to.

**Authors note**

I originally planned this to be longer and have more chapters, but as I was writing this chapter it turned out differently than I planned and I'm happy to leave it as just these two chapters. I had an idea of writing this as an argument but I just couldn't picture Will being mean to Alicia. So I wrote it a bit differently. Hope you enjoyed.


	3. Chapter 3

Authors note

So I wasn't actually going to continue this beyond the last chapter but I obviously changed my mind. Read it and hope you enjoy. PS. This is actually my first shot at fan fiction. Also thanks for reviews.

He was late, ok late was an understatement. He was supposed to be at this partner meeting about forty minutes ago, he wouldn't be surprised if they were about to wrap up. It's not technically his fault though, it was his sisters. They came to visit for a couple of day and ended up staying the week. They finally left yesterday afternoon. He was trying his best not to snap at them and he's pretty proud of himself for his self control, but there were times he couldn't stand them. He loves them to death of course, but the whole week they had been badgering him about finding someone to settle down with. Actually when he thinks about it, he's not sure that they had even one conversation that didn't come around to giving him the third degree about his relationships. Or as they put it lack of relationships. They had depressed him with all the talks about commitment; by the time they left the only thing he wanted to do was drink.

He did try to get out there and find someone to take his mind off work but things had just been so busy. For the last four months things have been hectic. He was stressed enough by competing with a cocky start up firm; he didn't need his sisters adding to that stress. When they left yesterday he had just sat there watched baseball, got drunk and thought about things (he hadn't had time to do that for four months now). Thought about her was a more accurate statement.

He was proud of himself; he had left her alone like he promised he would. He hadn't spoken to her once since _that_ night, except when they had a case against each other. They tried to keep it civil in court, but sometimes there competitive nature came out and the judge had to bang his gravel to stop them screaming at each other. He thought he saw her staring at him a couple of times during trial but he just brushed that off as his imagination. But asides from court and negotiations, they never spoke.

He had to stop thinking about this. These thoughts were the reason he was late. The more he thought about them last night, the more upset he got, and that caused him to get absolutely smashed and stay up to two in the morning wandering around his apartment trying to picture her face. He wasn't proud of that, but the liquor made him do stupid things. Anyway that was the chain of events that led to him being late, but of course if Diane asked he would just say that he slept in (which was technically true although the cause was a hangover) or got stuck in traffic. If he told her the real reason she would probably slap him and tell him to hurry up and move on. He was trying but it wasn't an easy thing to do.

He tried to enter the partner meeting unnoticed but obviously didn't achieve his goal. "Oh look who's finally decided to grace us with his presence. Because we all have time to sit around and wait for you all morning, will." David lee was his usually cheery self as he greeted him to the meeting.

"Sorry for the delay, I got held up in traffic." He replied as he took his seat.

Diane rolled her eyes at his excuse and David replied in a sarcastic tone "oh yes, very creative."

"Ok, now that Wills here we can finally vote on the matters." Diane called for the attention of everyone to vote on the matter of how to deal with all the ways Alicia and Cary were screwing them. He wouldn't lie, there firm was doing very well. They had taken a little under half of Lockhart/Gardner's client base and it had left the firm struggling a bit. He had a suspicion that the clients that were taken from them that weren't either Cary's or Alicia's clients when they worked here were poached by Cary, not Alicia. Even though she left him he still thinks she respected him enough not to poach his personal clients. A couple of his had left but when he talked to them they said they had been contacted and persuaded to leave by a Cary Agos, they never mentioned Alicia. That was a particular act that wasn't helping him forget her.

It took another twenty minutes for the meeting to end and after that he stayed behind to talk to Diane when she signalled him to stay back. "What's up?" He asked when it was just them.

"I'm supposed to go to court in an hour but something came up with Kurt, can you fill in for me?" She asked while checking her watch.

"Sure, what case?"

"The carter case, our clients sued." The Carter case, great. That was Alicia's case, he asked Diane to take it three and half months ago so that he didn't have to face Alicia in court so soon. Not that it mattered now any way, they have been in at least three cases together now.

"Ok I'll take it for you. What's going on with you and Kurt, wedding dramas?" They had set the date a couple of weeks ago and ever since then she's been busy running around planning the weeding. The wedding was in six months and he was incredibly happy for her.

"You have no idea, where going cake tasting today."

"Sounds like loads of fun, wish I could come with you." He put on his best puppy dog face and she laughed.

"I'll bring you back a sample. Have fun in court." And with that she left to meet her fiancé. After prepping a bit for court he headed over to the court house, but he was distracted the whole drive by thoughts of how happy Diane was. He wondered if Alicia was that happy when she was engaged. He can't remember if she was. All he can remember was being insanely jealous when she told him she was marrying Peter.

Court was dull not much happened, just normal proceedings. The judge just scheduled for them to reappear in court tomorrow, he stood up and turned around to leave and was met by Alicia's eyes. He hadn't purposely looked at her she was just in his line of sight. He expected her to look away or act busy like she usually did when their eyes met, but she didn't, she just kept staring at him. He doesn't know how long they stared at each other for but when she stood up and he looked around the room for a second he realised basically everyone had left, the last couple of people were shuffling out now.

She walked over to his side of the court and stood near him, but she left a distance between them. It was probably her attempt not to make it awkward. She gave him a small smile and said "hi Will."

That was it? Four months and all she said was hi? She could've at least got straight to the point if she planned to go back to ignoring him after this brief encounter. But he would play along never the less. "Hey" he replied back lamely.

"Been awhile since we talked outside of court, well we're still technically in a court room but court isn't in session at the moment and were not talking about the law or arguing over a client, by the way when I yelled at you that time I wasn't angry with you I was just stressed, but I'm sorry if it seemed that way you know." She finally finished her long sentence to take a breath. She was babbling, which meant she was nervous. It was cute. When he didn't respond right way she looked down embarrassed and fiddled with her hands. Oh yeah she was defiantly nervous, she could never keep her hands still when she was.

"Yeah it has been awhile. And don't worry, court is court, tempers are bound to flare." He said this mainly to let her out of her misery with thinking she had embarrassed herself by coming to talk to him. It worked; she put her hands by her sides and looked up at him with a smile. She was about to say something else when her daughters voice interrupted her. She fished in her hand bag for her phone. God he hated that ring tone, it had ruined so many of their moments and interrupted a lot of their 'lunches'. Although he never got mad when it rang and she untangled herself from him when they were making love to answer the phone, it was her daughter after all.

Alicia stepped away from him to take the call and when she hung up and returned she looked disappointed. "I'm sorry but I have to go, my daughters decided to take a stand at school again for one of her causes and I have to go sort it out." She sounded annoyed, like this was a regular occurrence. But the way she was talking to him, like she used to before everything happened, it was odd. What's even odder is that he found he was happy about it, like she was letting him in on a part of her life again. Ok, way to get ahead of yourself Will.

"Ok, I hope it goes well then and she doesn't get into trouble." He was trying to sound considerate and casual at the same time. Turns out it's actually not that easy.

"It was nice to talk to you again." She smiled at him again and walked off toward the hallway. With her hand on the door handle she turned to his surprise and said "I mean really Will, it was very nice to talk to you again. I'm sorry for-, well I guess I'm just sorry for everything." Then she rushed out of the courtroom leaving him very surprised and very confused.

What the hell was that!? She been ignoring him for four months and all of a sudden she wants to talk to him again. Maybe this was just a onetime thing, spur of the moment. She probably just did that on impulse. But what was the apology? She sounded sincere, actually she sounded like she was about to cry now that he thinks about it. He had no idea how to feel in this moment. Should he feel happy that she's started to talk to him again, or mad because she just confused the hell out of him? He decided that this one brief encounter wasn't enough to let hope rise to the surface. She was probably just lonely and sleep deprived, being the boss at a law firm would do that to you. Yes, that was it, she was just feeling overwhelmed by the effects running a firm can have on you and wanted to talk to someone who had been through the same thing. Or at Least that's what he was telling himself. This was ridiculous; she had had a casual conversation with him not made a grand proclamation of love. And yet here he was like a school girl trying to decipher what her words had meant.

Just then his phone vibrated in his pocket. He was needed back at the firm; this analysis of Alicia would have to wait till later. Although he doubted if he would be able to stop thinking about her all day now. Why was she never clear with what she wanted from him? It doesn't matter; he wasn't going to act on it. Not when he had no idea where her thoughts were at. If she was trying to befriend him again, then she would have to come to him and apologise for everything that had happened. This time he wasn't giving her an easy way out, if she wanted him in her life again, she was going to have to make an effort. He was sick of just backing down and letting Alicia have her own way. He was sick of chasing after her, if she wanted him she could come and get him.


	4. Chapter 4

How can one person hold so much power over him? He's been sitting here staring at her for over 15 minutes now. Alicia was so beautiful when she worked. Right now she was negotiating with Diane in the conference room. It was so weird seeing her in Lockhart/Gardner again. It was almost like she never left, or it would be if it wasn't for the fact that she was sitting on the opposite side of the table to Diane. He didn't want to think of that now. For now he would just pretend she never did betray him, so that he could go back to studying her through his office. It was moments like this that made him happy to have a firm with so much glass.

Alicia was twiddling her pen in her fingers and she had that crease between her eyebrows that she got when she was concentrating. He remembers seeing that concentrated look on her face when she was doing some other not so professional things with him. The memory flooded back to him and hit him hard with longing. He's tried to avoid thinking about those particular moments but seeing her sitting there, crossing her perfect lean legs was a bit too much. Oh what the hell. He closed his eyes and thought about the way she straddled him one night in his apartment. They both had too much wine and she was trying to stay upright and keep her balance while she attempted to move on top of him at a steady pace. That's when the look of intense concentration came over her face. He felt himself getting excited so he quickly opened his eyes in an attempt to banish the thoughts from his mind.

As he looked over to the conference room again he saw that it was empty. Diane was in her office and he couldn't see Alicia anywhere. He got up and walked out of his office to try and find her. He found her standing in front of an elevator waiting for it to open. He felt very stupid just standing there looking at her, but what could he do? He promised himself that he wouldn't chase after her anymore. Realising that he was being a bit obsessive following her like this, he turned around to walk away but was stopped by the sound of his name being called. He spun around to her voice and was met with a warm sweet smile. Was he imagining it or was she looking at him with a different kind of expression than the one she'd been giving him the last couple of months. He couldn't pin point what it was though. In fact she's actually been a lot warmer to him since they talked in that empty courtroom. Even if it was just smiling at him sometimes and saying hello when they saw each other, it was little things but he could tell the difference between the way she was acting not and the way she was a week ago, before their talk.

"Hey, we're you heading down too?" She asked as she waved a hand towards the elevator.

"Yes I was do you mind if I catch this one with you?" He couldn't think of a reason that she would believe to why he was standing there, so he just went along with hers.

"No of course not, it's your elevator after all" she stepped into the elevator when its doors opened and he followed. "How are you?" She asked when the doors closed and they were alone.

"I'm good, just trying to get everything back to normal." He wasn't trying to make her feel bad; if he was he would have said 'just trying to fix my firm after you screwed us all over'. Never the less her face fell. "What about you?"

"I don't know, I'm busy with the firm and I'm just trying to figure some stuff out." He thought it would be rude to push for more so he settled for a nod and just let the silence hang in the air. Until she broke it asking "Will, are you doing anything tonight?"

He almost swallowed his tongue. Was she asking him out? What did he say? Should he lie to get out of what was sure to be an awkward confusing evening, or tell the truth so he could figure out what she wanted? He settled for the truth. "Um no. Why what's up?"

"We'll I was just thinking that it might be nice to have a drink together. You know at a bar." A bar was a public place; she seemed to be trying to fix their friendship but didn't want to be alone with him yet. At least she was trying, and as long she was making the attempt he was willing to go have drinks with her.

"Yeah sure sounds fun, which bar?" She smiled relived that he said yes and told him which bar. They arranged to meet there at eight. The elevator reached the ground floor and they both stepped out. "I'll walk you to your car" he told her as she began to look for where she parked it.

"Ok" he could see a blush spread through her pale cheeks. He was really offering because the only reason he took the ride down was so that she didn't think he was following her. He actually needed to go back up and couldn't until she left; besides he got to spend a little more time with her.

When they reached her she car got in and rolled down the window so that she could tell him goodbye. "I'll see you tonight then, ok?"

"Ok. Drive safe." She smiled at him before driving away. Wow he sure was getting a lot of smiles these days. He headed over to the elevators so that he could go back to his office. He was starting to regret tonight a little bit. What if she stood him up? What is she came but she completely screwed up all his progress in forgetting her (he'll admit he hasn't gotten very far) by leading him on and then running away back to Peter? He knew that if she did that there would be no chance in ever fixing their relationship again, the wounds would be too deep. He just had to trust that she wouldn't hurt him again tonight. He doesn't have any reason to trust her actually; she has a horrible track record when it comes to hurting him. He would still go tonight though; maybe she would tell him what was going through her head.

It was now three o'clock; he has five hours left before he has to go see her. Something tells him he's not going to get much work done in that time. On his ride back up to the firm he thought about the way she looked at him when she called his name, the way she smiled at him when he said he would go with her. Yes he would defiantly go tonight, but he had absolutely no idea how this night would turn out.

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So this is the fourth chapter, let me know if you like it. I was going to include the dinner in this chapter but it got to late and I have assignments to do, but I will update soon. Reviews are always appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors note**

Sorry for late update, I had a bit of writers block. I promise I will update again soon.

Disclaimer

I don't own any of these characters or The good wife. They belong to the beautiful writers Michelle and Robert King.

* * *

He was sitting here at a hotel bar drinking alone. Alicia wasn't here yet, he was debating whether or not to call her and see what was holding her up. As he looked around to see if she had arrived yet a blonde woman caught his eye, she smiled at him seductively and waved. Will smiled back politely but then looked down at his drink, he didn't want her thinking he was interested when he was actually waiting for Alicia. Just as he thought her name he saw her walk through the door. Alicia looked around for a moment until she spotted him; he waved for her to join him. She smiled and as she walked over he let his eyes roam up and down her body. She wasn't wearing the same clothes as earlier; she had changed into something a little shorter and tighter, still professional but sexy. Now he was feeling under dressed, he had stayed in his work clothes to make it look like he wasn't trying too hard.

"Hey I'm sorry I'm late, I caught up in-in something" she told him while she took a seat next to him. He tried to ignore the fact that she looked flustered and distracted, but he just couldn't, he had to ask.

"No it's fine. Is everything okay? You look a bit upset." He touched her arm to display his concern

"Yes don't worry, I just had an argument with-" she stooped suddenly and looked at him like she was just releasing who she was talking to. She shook her head and smiled "it doesn't matter; I just want something to drink." She laughed in awkwardness in he smiled.

He pushed a drink towards her that he ordered while he was waiting. "Here, tequila's your favourite isn't it?" He asked knowing full well it was. His mind was preoccupied with ideas of who she was arguing with, and for what reason. If it was Cary, they would've been arguing over the firm. If it was Peter, they would've been arguing about their relationship, or maybe about the fact that Alicia was going out with him tonight. Although he doubts that Alicia would tell Peter that she was here with him tonight.

"Yeah it is, you remembered!" She smiled and downed the shot. How could he forget? Every time they were together at his house she would bring a bottle of tequila, until he caught on and started to stock his house with them for her. "Oh god, it feels so good to just sit and drink and unwind. Things have been so hectic lately" she bit into her lime and sucked on it.

"The glamorous life of a name partner! Get used to it, this goes on for about another ten years." He raised his glass in a sarcastic toast "here's to partnership and no sleep." She laughed and rolled her eyes at him, but she still raised her newly poured drink and touched it to his own before drinking it.

"I don't know how you coped with it for so long. I mean it hasn't even been half a year yet and I'm already going insane." She said in a serious tone.

Will made an attempt to lighten the mood "yes see, the point is to drink past the insanity and suicidal thoughts and just enjoy yourself." Lame as his joke was she still smiled at his effort. "Come on it can't be that bad, your firms the new and shiny thing. Everybody wants a piece of the action."

"That's the problem with new things, eventually they get old" she was turning sombre on him again. Maybe it's best to just stop trying to cheer her up; she probably wanted someone to talk to about all the depressing things in her life. Maybe that's the only reason she invited him here, to talk about trivial things."Do you think that we can make it up to the people we hurt? Or will they just hold a grudge forever?" She was looking at him with sad eyes waiting for an answer.

He was about eighty percent sure she was talking about them. But he wasn't sure when she said that thing about holding a grudge, had he been that obvious with the little bit of anger he still had for her? No he wasn't. He had hid it very well, he hasn't even yelled at her besides that night at her apartment and court. He was just starting to wonder about who else she could be taking about when she answered his unspoken question for him.

"You're still mad at me aren't you?" He didn't answer he just stared straight into her eyes, so she continued. "I don't blame you. I actually thought you would tell me to go to hell when I asked about tonight. That's why I was so relieved when you said yes, so we could actually talk about things and I could apologise." She paused for a minutes before saying "I'm sorry will, I never wanted to hurt you. I just thought that distancing myself from you would make it easier for us both to move on. Although that plan pretty much backfired." She finished and looked down nervous about his upcoming response.

He finally replied "I don't understand Alicia. You say you did all this just to create distance between us, and now you're here telling me you're sorry you did it in the first place." He was very confused about what she wanted out of him tonight. So he just decided to ask. "Alicia I don't have to tell you that given the chance we'll just dance around each other all night, so if you don't mind could you tell me why we're here?"

"Were here because I don't want you to hate me for the rest of our lives, I want to be friends." She placed her hand on his, and gave him the sweetest smile that made him forget how to breathe for a second. "I also want to talk about something else with you but not here. Are you hungry?" She asked removing her hand from his and getting up.

The fact that she was already standing and ready to leave didn't give him much choice, but it's not like he was going to insist on making her stay in this crowded bar. Whatever she wanted to talk about she obviously wanted privacy. He wonders why they just didn't go to somewhere private in the first place instead of a public bar. That's when it occurs to him that she probably planned this night out, to see if it would go well in the bar and then go to a private place. After all, Alicia did love plans. "I'm starving" he got up and they walked out together onto the street.

The cold air blew and made him wrap his coat around himself tighter. He looked at Alicia and saw her shivering; she hadn't brought a coat and was obviously cold. "You know you can catch pneumonia like that" he told her while taking of his coat and offering it to her.

She shook her head "no then you'll be cold, I'm fine." Ignoring her protest he reached out and wrapped the coat around her shoulders. She didn't make a move to put it properly, probably about to try and give it back to him.

"Alicia just take it, beside I have a jacket on. You have nothing." She surrendered and put the coat on and wrapped it around her body. "So where do you want to go to eat? I know a couple of good places."

"Um actually, I was thinking we could just go to my place. I have pizzas there we could warm up, it's not five star cuisine but it'll do. Beside my apartments only a couple of blocks away, we could walk if you want." She stared to walk backwards, the direction of her apartment her supposed, waiting for him to follow.

He was shocked by her invitation to come to her apartment. He thought they would go to a quite diner with not many people, not her place. That was more than private, that was intimate. He caught up to her and they began to walk to her apartment. They walked mostly the whole way without talking, sometimes they would talk a little about the case they had against each other, but nothing important. Twenty minutes later they reached Alicia's apartment. Thankfully the elevator was empty on the ride up; he didn't want to make the ride any more awkward with a stranger. As they entered her apartment Alicia flicked some lights on and put his coat down, she motioned for him to follow her into the kitchen.

"The finest pizzas Chicago has to offer" she joked while pulling the left over pizza boxes out of the fridge to warm up. "Um, I'll be right back, wines up there." She pointed to the top cupboard then walked off in the direction of her bed room. While she was gone he pulled out some plates and heated up the pizza for them in the microwave. He poured them both a glass of red wine, red was Alicia's favourite.

As he waited for her to come back he sipped on his wine and tried to process what was happening. Half an hour ago he was sitting at a bar with Alicia and now he was standing in the middle of her kitchen. He was trying not to be nervous, but his mind kept going over possibilities of what she wanted to talk about. The obvious one would be their relationship, but he didn't want to jump to conclusion and be disappointed later. He took a bite of his pizza and Alicia came back into the room, she took her food and drink and walked into the lounge room silently. He followed and sat down on the couch next to her, placing his plate with hers on the coffee table.

She folded one leg under her and turned on the couch to face him. He saw her withdraw an unsteady breathe as she prepared to start talking. "You never gave me answer will" seeing his confusion she added "back at the bar I asked if you were still mad at me. Are you?"

"Yes" he didn't want to lie to her. If she was being honest tonight he would be to. "You really screwed things up for me at the firm Alicia. I never thought you would do that, and you hurt me deeply. But I'm working on it. I can't say that I've completely forgiven you, but being here with you and seeing you try like this, it's certainly helping." He took her hand and gave her a soft smile.

She looked like she was fighting of tears when she spoke "you know why I left the firm, but I didn't tell you why I wanted to go somewhere private." Here we go he said in his head, she was finally telling him. "Ever since I left the firm I've tried so hard not to think about you, to forget everything that happened so we could both move on. I didn't just leave so Peter and I could have a proper marriage; I left so you could have a chance at finding someone to. I know I've always interfered with your other relationships, weather I wanted to or not it, they always caught on. I'm sorry if tonight is pointless because you actually did move on, am I too late?"

It took him a minute to actually register what she was asking him. She wanted to know if he was available, she wanted to be with him. Wills first instinct was to yell out 'hell no, you're not too late' and kiss her, but he restrained himself. He needed to know if she was serious about this before he told her what he felt. First of all what was going on with her and Peter? He wasn't about to be in the middle of their married again, he needed to know where they stood.

"Alicia, it's not fair to ask me that without telling me what's going on between you and Peter. I need to know everything, before I make a decision. You need to be honest with me right now." He let go of her hand and folded his in his lap. She obviously wasn't expecting that answer. She probably thought after following her back here, he would jump at any chance to rekindle their relationship.

"Your right, I'm sorry. Um, it's always been so complicated with me and Peter, but it's actually not this time." She laughed and he wasn't sure if he should join in or not. "Peter noticed that I was so distracted with everything going on, he thought it was just about the firm but eventually he got suspicious. He asked me if you had anything to do with the fact that I kept rescheduling our trip to Hawaii, and that's when I realised that he was actually right. I was so preoccupied with the firm and forgetting about you that I didn't realise I was pushing Peter away. It just didn't feel right to be with him anymore, it felt weird even sleeping in the same bed with him again. And when he asked about you, I don't why but I just told him that I wasn't over you. This was two weeks ago, and ever since then I've been trying to figure out a way to tell you all of this. I've missed you so much. I was stupid in thinking I could force Peter and I to be happy and in love again. I'll always love Peter though, I have a family with him, but he's not the one that owns my heart anymore. You've had it for a while now, I'm sorry it took me so long to figure it out. I'm ready to take a shot with you now. I wasn't before, I was to scared and oblivious, but I know that I want you know. Is there still a chance you want me too?"

That was by far the cheesiest things he has ever heard her say. He felt so happy in this moment, words could not describe it. His thoughts were so jumbled right now that he doubted he could've beat her speech, so instead of talking he just leant in and kissed her. He felt her smile into the kiss and wrap her arms around him. Will sighed into her mouth, still shell shocked by her words. He was in complete bliss, kissing Alicia tasted better than anything, it also wiped his thoughts clean so that he could focus on nothing but her. This was better than he could've ever dreamed, Alicia was openly admitting that she wanted to be with him a hundred percent, she put all thoughts of her changing her mind and running to Peter to rest, and yet he still needed to hear something from her. He knew I love you was a very difficult thing for Alicia to say. But if she wanted him to trust her again, she would have to.

He broke the kiss and rested his forehead on hers like he'd done in the car that night. He looked into her eyes "I love you Alicia" he whispered to her. She just stared back. If she said it he would stay, if she couldn't he would leave.

They sat there for about five minutes, he was just about to extract himself from her grasp when she jumped on him and feverishly pressed her lips to his. She kissed him passionately and mumbled against his lips "I love you too".

That was all the reassurance he needed, to know that she was serious about this. Without another word he stood and holding her hands led her to the bedroom.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for reviews. let me know if you like this chapter.**

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The light in Alicia's room was really pretty, it had these eye catching patterns carved into the bit that held up the light. He's been staring at it for about ten minutes now. It's not like he could do much else, Alicia wasn't ready to wake up yet and if he tried to get out of the bed she would wake. Alicia usually wasn't clingy when it came to sleeping, she liked her own space, but all through the night she'd been wrapped around him. It's not that he minded cuddling, he just really had to go to the bathroom and he was stuck in Alicia vice like grip. She probably thought he would leave in the middle of the night or something, he never would of course, but it was nice knowing she wanted him to stay that bad.

Will was startled by the sudden noise coming from his phone. He reached over to shut it up before it woke her. She didn't wake up but she let him go so she could roll over. Taking the chance he quickly got out of the bed and put on his shirt and briefs, he couldn't find his pants. He went to the bathroom and saw that it was raining outside, pouring actually. He went and checked his phone and saw that it was eleven in the morning. Wow they slept for ages. Well not really, they were up for ages last night getting reacquainted with each other bodies. Will smirked to himself as he looked at Alicia lying there so peacefully. He wanted to let her sleep, so he went to try and find something to eat. Maybe that left over pizza she has, not the one he made for them last night that was still on the coffee table in the lounge room. Once she stuck her tongue in his mouth all thoughts of dinner were abandoned.

As he rummaged through her fridge, he wondered if Alicia would tell anyone about what happened last night. He sure as hell wouldn't. She hadn't said anything about it last night but he's pretty sure she doesn't want him blabbing to the world that they were together now. At least not till after the divorce. Will closed the fridge as he realised that they hadn't even discussed that last night, she hadn't even said they were separated. Okay they still had a lot to talk about. They both got so caught up in the moment last night that all his prior thoughts about knowing all the details before he agreed to be with her were forgotten. Well they were together now; he wasn't going to change that. But they were going to talk later, about everything.

He looked at his phone and saw he had missed calls from Kalinda. He should probably call her back; but if he did they would probably have a conversation that would result in him needing to come in to the office. That's the last thing he wanted to do right now, he would rather stay here and wait for Alicia to wake up so that they could talk about their relationship. Oh my god he was like an obsessed teenage girl right now, writing in her diary wondering why her boyfriend hadn't said I love you yet. He didn't want to come off as pushy and clingy to Alicia. He was going through different ways in his head about how to start a conversation with Alicia in a manly way when he heard the front door open and close. It took him a moment to remember that Alicia was still in bed, and that this was someone she might not want him to meet yet. Like her kids, if they walked in right now and saw him it would create a very awkward situation. For all he knew they might still think that their parents are happy together.

He was just starting to run from the kitchen and head to Alicia's room to hide when someone who was familiar to him appeared in the doorway. Instead of her kids, he saw Owen standing there looking at him drum struck.

"Will! Hey, I guess. What are you doing here?" Alicia told me she left your firm."

"Um, I'm not here for work. I'm just-" he paused not sure how much he should say. He had no idea what Alicia had told him, so he just stood there awkwardly.

"I'm going to take the fact that you're not wearing pants as a sign that Alicia finally called you. So how long have you been walking around here tainting furniture with my sister. Tell me now so I know what not to put my face on." Owen walked over and took some cold pizza out of the fridge. Owen looked at him waiting for an answer.

Will smiled at Owens teasing, if Alicia was awake she would probably tell him off, but he had sisters he was used to this. He wasn't sure if Owen should be filled in on the fact that he and Alicia had properly made up only last night. He knew that people would think there were moving way to fast, having only had about three proper conversations in the last 5 months before saying I love you and spending the night together. But to them it just didn't feel too fast, they've been back and forth so many times that this pace felt right to them. Besides if he didn't lead Alicia to the bedroom last night, she would've taken him. Owen would probably just give Alicia grief if he found out that they jumped into bed together after one day, so Will would just leave it up to Alicia with what to tell Owen

"Alicia's asleep in the room, I was letting her sleep in." Will didn't miss the fact that Owen rolled his eyes at how he dogged his Question.

"Well that's very gentlemanly of you, but I think Alicia needs to partake in this conversation. Alicia! Wake up!" Will moved out of Owens way as he made his way to Alicia's bedroom yelling for her to wake up. He was sure Alicia would not appreciate this wake up call, but Will knew that she would forgive Owen quickly. She loved him dearly. Not sure what to do in this moment, follow Owen or wait in the kitchen, he decided to look for his pants and let Alicia and her brother talk.

He spotted his pants in the hallway from the lounge room to Alicia's bedroom. As he was putting them on he knew Alicia was awake because he heard her voice and then her bedroom door shut. He went back to the kitchen and munched on some pizza and called Kalinda while he waited for Alicia to come out. Just like he suspected, Kalinda found a problem that needed to be addressed and Diane wanted him to come in. Alicia's voice trailed out of her bedroom and was approaching the kitchen, she stopped when she saw him in the kitchen, she looked down at his pants and smiled. Owen obviously had told her that he was walking around pant less. She walked over to him and took his hands.

"Good morning. I'm sorry about Owen; he can be a bit over bearing sometimes. I didn't know he would come over today." She leant in to give him a tender kiss. Will wrapped his arms around her waist and returned the kiss until it was interrupted by Owen.

"What do you mean overbearing?! I'm a delight, you're just over controlling. Oh and by the way Will, continue to grope my sister in front of me and I'll have no choice but to inform our mother of your newly founded relationship."

"He is not groping me, shut up Owen! He's joking, if he called my mother I would never speak to him again." She reassured him.

"That's fine, listen I'm going to take off." He let go of her and picked up his phone.

"Why? You don't have to go because of Owen. He can leave, you stay." Will smiled at how much she wanted him to stay, it was nice to finally be loved by Alicia.

"No, it's not Owen. I have to go in, work problem. But can we meet up tonight? I want to talk about some things."

"Yeah, ok. We can go to your place if you want."

"Sure. I'll call you later, Alicia." He turned to Owen and shook his hand. "It was nice to see you again."

"Yeah, you too. It was also nice to see you out of your pants by the way."

"Owen!" Alicia scolded him and he retreated into the lounge room. "I'm sorry, he's an idiot sometimes."

Will laughed " don't worry I have siblings to. I'll see you later Alicia."

"Ok. Last night was great wasn't it?" She seemed to be unsure and was asking him if he enjoyed himself.

"Of course, it was amazing" if she was insecure he would do his best to put her insecurities to rest. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. "I love you, you're all I want Alicia."

She leaned in to him and seemed relieved that he had said that. It was like she thought he had changed his mind over night. He hadn't changed his mind; he just had questions he needed answers to.

"I love you to Will. You're all I want as well. Sorry it took so long to realise."

"It doesn't matter now. Ok, I'll call you tonight when I'm home, then we'll talk."

"Bye." She kissed him goodbye and he gathered his things and headed for the door.

He had to go help Diane out at work before all hell broke loose. He played it like Owens comments had no effect on him, but when he mentioned his mother, Will felt nervous. He very much wanted Alicia's family's approval, especially her kids. Bad thought, he shouldn't be thinking about meeting her kids that was Alicia's decision all the way. They were hers after all and she knew them best.

He got to the parking lot and begun to look for his car when he realised he'd left it at the hotel. He'd completely forgotten that they walked to Alicia's apartment. Oh well, he was late enough as it was, he didn't have time to walk back to the hotel. He phoned a cab to take him to work. While he was being driven he went back to thinking about how to start the conversation with Alicia tonight. He didn't want to upset her by prying too much, but she had to be fair and give him all the details. Either way, if she cooperated tonight he'd know once and for all if she was completely serious about this, or if she had any doubts. He wanted it all on the table and he wanted to know if Peter would cause problems. Tonight there would be a lot of secrets being uncovered, because he knew after he was done questioning her about things she would prefer not to share, she would want to know all his dirty secrets. This was going to be the night that would make or break there relationship.


End file.
